Emotional Spitzer Explains How He Has Changed Since Scandal

Former New York State Governor, Eliot Spitzer, speaks with reporters about his campaign for New York City Comptroller Monday.

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Tuesday he was guilty of hubris and horrendous judgment, his eyes welling with tears as he explained how he’s personally changed in the past five years since he resigned in the wake of a prostitution scandal.

In a tough interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Mr. Spitzer talked at length about the scandal that led to his downfall as he begged the public for a second chance. Mr. Spitzer admitted he lied about his sexual activity, but he said he believes there’s a difference between lying about public and private matters.

After a lengthy grilling, co-host Mika Brzezinski asked, “So, as personally as you can answer this question – don’t give me a pat answer, don’t give me one that you prepare in your mind – how are you different than you were five, six years ago? What has changed? Personally?”

“A lot of pain, a lot of pain,” Mr. Spitzer said, his voice trembling and his eyes misting. He paused momentarily, his mouth scrunching up as he appeared to be trying to maintain his composure.

“That’s it?” Ms. Brzezinski said.

“Yeah,” he replied. “You go through that pain, you change.”

Since he resigned in March 2008, a little more than a year into his governorship, Mr. Spitzer said he has spent the past five years “reflecting, thinking, apologizing – I’m ready to ask for forgiveness.”

“I failed, I had flaws, made horrific judgments, was unfaithful to my family, to the electorate. That’s why I resigned,” he said. “I stood up and I said, ‘I am holding myself accountable. It’s the only right thing to do.’”

After what he called a “lengthy” period of time reflecting on his past, Mr. Spitzer said he’s ready to ask the public to “look at the totality of who I am.”

Mr. Spitzer, a former two-term state attorney general, said excessive pride is the character flaw that led to his troubles. “What I did was not only wrong but was a consequence of hubris, and a failure of judgment and self-indulgence, which is absolutely inexplicable and unjustifiable, improper,” he said.

The former governor said he is guilty of what he called an “emotional arrogance.” But on the substantive issues he faced in office, he said, it was necessary for him to have the “fortitude to stick to his principles,” which some critics called arrogant.

Mr. Spitzer said his willingness to face the voters and to appear before journalists should assure the public that he’s changed and, if elected, would keep his propensity toward hubris in check. Still, Mr. Spitzer said while it’s “tough” to be questioned by the media, “it’s tougher to look your family in the eye.”

Mr. Spitzer has said his wife and daughters are supportive of his comeback campaign. None of his family members appeared with him on Monday for his first day on the campaign trail.

While never charged with a crime, Mr. Spitzer said he’s paid a substantial price, swatting down the notion that if he wins the comptroller’s race that it would reinforce the notion that he could get away with patronizing prostitutes. In his view, he said, resigning and dealing with the aftermath was a “significant” punishment.

Mr. Spitzer sought to define a difference between elected officials’ private and public lives, arguing that personal deficiencies, such as paying for sex, are less egregious than public ones, such as not paying taxes.

When asked if lying as the governor of New York disqualifies him from holding office, he replied, “It depends about what. We all know that politicians dissemble all the time about negotiations, on substantive issues and probably on personal issues as well. And, so, it is a question of where, when, how and on what issue.”

When it was pointed out that he lied about illegal activity, Mr. Spitzer said, “I lied about personal, sexual activity, yes, and I did that. I’m not trying to diminish it.”

A spokesman for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who was expecting to run uncontested for the Democratic nomination for comptroller, did not immediately return a request for comment. Mr. Stringer on Monday repeatedly said this election is about “integrity.”

In November 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which investigated Mr. Spitzer’s conduct, said in a statement that it would not prosecute the former governor. Mr. Spitzer arranged for women to travel between states to engage in prostitution, but investigators did not find any evidence that he used public money or campaign money to do so, the statement said.

“We have determined that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against Mr. Spitzer,” the statement said. “In light of the policy of the Department of Justice with respect to prostitution offenses and the longstanding practice of this office, as well as Mr. Spitzer’s acceptance of responsibility for his conduct, we have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter.”